Metal Church "s/t"

#metalchurch I always thought that was an awesome name.  In 1985 my buddy had bought a couple LPs and we were hanging in his room listening to them. One of the records was this debut. I remember loving the album cover and thinking I would have totally bought it as well. By today's standards it's cheesy as hell, a photograph of an explorer guitar (a metal as hell axe) fashioned into a moss covered cross in a purple swampy fog with it's oversized graphic band logo. I recently stole this concept for the back cover of the Barksdales album cover I did. Shhhhhh.... don't tell them.
Metal Church weren't exactly thrash, but they weren't old guard metal either. They were kind of a perfect transitional band. The songs are filled with guitar and drum heroics but not in a dramatic European way, the record felt street.  It has a grime on the production that makes it feel authentic, all denim and leather.
We listened to the album and I begged my friend to tape it for me so we listened to it again with the cassette rolling and headbanged in his room sitting cross legged in front of his stereo. I used to draw variations of this cover on various folders and book covers at school. Book covers. Man.  Folding brown paper shopping bags over your school books to "protect" them. Do kids still do that? I believe an entire generation of artists were born scribbling on that light tan surface. I know I was.  I definitely cut my artistic teeth redrawing logos and album covers on these books and folders. Any given moment you can hand me a pencil and paper and ask me to draw this disc cover and I will, you hand me a blank folder and you can keep the drawing.